2005 Easiest Aftermarket Speaker upgrade?

Thanks for that -

so what amplifier should I get and is it easy to do?

I don't have the music really loud, just eventually - the speakers pop. I don't need something that will blast my head off - just want a sytem with decent bass that wont pop the speaker

ta

On a similar theme, if it were my car and given your listening preference, what I'd do is change the radio for one with a decent amp built in, I don't think the speaker setup in a C3 warrants a separate amp.

I would get a radio (with CD, MPs or whatever you need to play your music) that supports a sub. By doing this you can use the features of the radio to cut the bass frequencies it sends to the existing speakers, the bass signal then goes direct to the sub as a low level signal (rather than piggy-backing off the high level speaker wires) where the sub can deal with it.

By removing low frequencies from the signals sent to the existing speakers you'll dramatically reduce the amount of power they get and allow them to do a better job of reproducing the frequencies that they can handle.

Missing Lincs wrote:I would get a radio (with CD, MPs or whatever you need to play your music) that supports a sub.

This Pioneer does that - have its own sub output. It also has pre-outs which will become useful later if you ever did want to add an amplifier. You loose the CD player, but save money and who plays CD anyway?

samuelodog wrote:I don't need something that will blast my head off - just want a sytem with decent bass that wont pop the speaker

Add this active subwoofer under the seat and connect it the 'direct sub out' of the Pioneer head unit. It fits budget and small enough for a C3, giving plenty of bass without blowing up the door speakers.

Great. Thanks. So what kind of radio would you recommend? I still don't understand the words, so please can you point at a radio and a small sub? Many thanks! This stuff confuses and frightens me!

Ah, c3car, thanks. But one concern, if I replace the radio, does this mess up the clock display thing? And is there a version with a CD player too? My favourite phone mount is a CD one. Oh, and my other concern is the difficulty of installing all the above! Thanks

samuelodog wrote:But one concern, if I replace the radio, does this mess up the clock display thing?

Not on a 2004, the clock, door open, temperature, ice alert are unaffected by the stereo. You won't get track information on there as the stereo will now have its own display.

samuelodog wrote:And is there a version with a CD player too?

This Pioneer is upgraded with a CD and DAB.

samuelodog wrote:Oh, and my other concern is the difficulty of installing all the above!

Well, the pioneer adaptor will need a slight modification by swapping 4 and 7 of the ISO power plug over, but all of the aftermarkets need that. The sub comes with wires and instructions. You will need to do some work, connecting to the battery and an earth. There are some topics on this forum covering the same subjects, so there are plenty of pictures

Many thanks. So. I could get a new stereo with subwoofer and keep my same speakers , or do I just keep it all the same but change my speakers to something like these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B001J03 ... 1425225728

Bump?

So - to keep it simple - I will pay someone to install.

So - with that in mind, and a budget of £170 ish, and given that the install would cost c. £40 - that leaves me with c. £130 to play with.

So - what do I get:
speakers?
sub?
Radio?
sub and radio?
speakers and radio?
amp?

Thanks

My opinion, new radio plus sub and repair your existing speakers if required.

Budget may be an issue if you want installation included. Decent radios can be had for around £50-£80, subs like the one you linked to around £100, plus extra for replacing existing speakers that are broken and a few pounds if you need any wiring adaptors to interface the new radio. I'd say about £200 plus installation if you go down this route.

I think this will give you far better sound, especially as you want bass, than any speaker upgrade.

My issue with changing the radio is that I then have 3 things to change - speakers (cos one is blown), radio and sub.

Can't I just get these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-TS-A132 ... m+speakers

and

https://www.amazon.co.uk/T1-Audio-watts- ... +subwoofer

I didn't understand the amplifier stuff - would my new speakers blow if I don't upgrade the radio?

thanks